Omeeta-weewak
Tomson Highway
Playwright, Composer, Musician
Tomson Highway is one of Canada’s leading artists, widely acclaimed for his contributions to literature and theatre. He is from Barren Lands First Nation in northern Manitoba and is a Cree language speaker. His works include the plays The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, the novel Kiss of the Fur Queen and many children's books. Tomson is the recipient of the Order of Canada, eleven honorary doctorates, and many other awards. Before his career as an artist, Highway was a social worker. His recent publication From Oral to Written: A Celebration of Indigenous Literature in Canada, highlights the literary resurgence of Indigenous writing. Tomson initiated this project to bring Indigenous literary and artistic traditions to the critical work of language and cultural revitalization in his homeland.
The Bighetty and Bighetty Puppets
Entertainers
The playful Bighetty and Bighetty puppets—the Chief, Marcel, and Mathias—will be joining the Songs in the Key of Cree tour in Manitoba. We are soooooooooo excited!!!!
Krystle Pederson
Singer, Actor
Krystle Pederson plays the lead role in Lynx Lamour Goes to Nashville. Krystle is a multi-talented Cree/Métis singer, dancer, actor and musician. Her list of acting credits includes the lead role in the Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre’s production of The (Post) Mistress, a one-woman musical written by Tomson Highway, and numerous other shows that have toured across Canada. Krystle was the lead actor in Sum Theatre’s Little Badger and the Fire Spirit, a children’s play based on the acclaimed Métis writer Maria Campbell's book. Recently, Krystle performed in the National Arts Centre of Canada’s production of Gabriel Dumont’s Wild West Show. Krystle is also a champion jigger. This year, she was named one of the CBC's Saskatchewan Future 40 and she has been nominated for the Saskatchewan Arts Award and the YMCA Woman of Distinction Award. Congratulations Krystle!
Lancelot Knight
Lead Guitar
Lance Knight, a Saskatoon-based artist, is a member of the Muskoday First Nation. He grew up in a musical family, touring across North America with his father's JUNO award-winning rhythm and country band Chester Knight and the Wind. In Saskatoon, Lance has performed in the Theatre in the Park's Little Badger and the Fire Spirit, and Sum Theatre’s Woodcutter and the Lion. He was also a part of Theatre Prospero's Pawâkan Macbeth in Edmonton. Lancelot has performed with rapper Joey Stylez and he recently produced his first CD with his band Nightswitch.
Andrina Turenne
Singer, Guitar
Andrina is a singer, songwriter, composer and musician born and raised in St. Boniface, Manitoba, with proud Francophone and Métis roots holding firm on the muddy banks of the Red River. She is a member of the JUNO award-winning soul/pop outfit Chic Gamine, and the world-music ensemble Madrigaïa. Over the last 20 years, Andrina has toured extensively throughout the world, performing in celebrated music halls, festivals and roadside watering holes. More recently Andrina composed music for and performed as a one-woman band in the National Arts Centre production of Gabriel Dumont’s Wild West Show. Look for her new solo recording project coming this summer.
Nathan Halcrow
Fiddle, Guitar
From Cross Lake First Nation, Manitoba, Nathan Halcrow is a graduate of the Frontier School Division's fiddle program. He now teaches fiddle and guitar full-time in some of Manitoba's most remote Cree communities. When Nathan was 13-years-old, his fiddle teacher Cameron Baggins gave him a transcription of Paganini's Caprice No. 5, a score famous for being extremely fast and technically difficult. Within months, he had mastered the entire piece and performed it on the electric guitar. Whether on guitar, fiddle, or banjo, Nathan's incredible musicality and gentle spirit shine through every note he plays.
Liam Allan
Bass
Liam is a bassist and composer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He grew up playing Métis fiddle, bluegrass and orchestral music and now plays with some of Winnipeg’s top jazz, swing, country and blues musicians. His influences on the double bass include Oscar Pettiford, Willie Dixon, Charles Mingus and Israel Crosby. Liam leads his own jazz quartet and blues trio.
Brodie Parachoniak
Drums
Born in Winnipeg but raised in the northern community of Gillam, Manitoba, Brodie Parachoniak first picked up a pair of drumsticks at the age of 11. At first, self-taught, he is now a graduate of the Contemporary Music and Technology program at Selkirk College in Nelson, British Columbia, where he majored in drum set performance. He can be seen playing around Winnipeg with different groups spanning a range of genres from country to R&B and soul music. As a lover of photography and movies, the opportunity to perform in a musical theatre production was the perfect way to bridge his interests and help him further develop both as a musician and an artist as a whole.
Leah Cherniak
Stage Director
Leah will join the Lynx Lamour Goes to Nashville team in Winnipeg this spring as the stage director. She is the co-founder of Common Boots Theatre (formerly Theatre Columbus) in Toronto. Along with directing over 30 plays for Common Boots, she has directed for productions across the country, including shows at the National Arts Centre, the Neptune Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, and Soulpepper. Leah teaches at Ryerson University's School of Performance and the Soulpepper Academy, where she is a Resident Artist.